Rockbridge County

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between
Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of
an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with
economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors,
including income
and family size
and structure.
For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice
their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population*

18,102

100.00%

20,605

100.00%

In Poverty

2,460

13.59%

1,976

9.59%

Not in Poverty

15,642

86.41%

18,629

90.41%

11 Years and Under

2,780

15.36%

2,858

13.87%

In Poverty

529

2.92%

294

1.43%

Not in Poverty

2,251

12.44%

2,564

12.44%

12 to 17 Years

1,311

7.24%

1,696

8.23%

In Poverty

209

1.15%

146

0.71%

Not in Poverty

1,102

6.09%

1,550

7.52%

18 to 64 Years

11,522

63.65%

12,831

62.27%

In Poverty

1,288

7.12%

1,227

5.95%

Not in Poverty

10,234

56.54%

11,604

56.32%

65 Years and Above

2,489

13.75%

3,220

15.63%

In Poverty

434

2.40%

309

1.50%

Not in Poverty

2,055

11.35%

2,911

14.13%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.